May 14, 2004
WACO, Texas -
The Baylor University athletics program had a $101.3 million impact on the greater Waco community and a projected one-year media impact benefit of nearly $43.9 million during the 2002-03 academic year according to a presentation given Thursday by Director of Athletics Ian McCaw to the school's board of regents.
"This information suggests that Baylor Athletics is a major economic player locally and reminds us of the importance of Baylor, Waco and McLennan County working closely together to serve the best interests of our community," said McCaw. "The current $101 million annual economic impact will serve as a benchmark for future years as we expand the contributions that Baylor Athletics makes to the community."
Conducted by Baylor economics professor Dr. Thomas M. Kelly, the economic impact study was based on the flow of out-of-county dollars that are spent within the local community during the academic year from events or functions associated with the school's intercollegiate athletics program. The "direct" economic impact generates additional spending among local residents creating a multiplier effect. An estimate of direct spending may be used to estimate the total economic impact by applying an appropriate local income multiplier.
The two greatest sources of the program's impact on the local economy came from operational expenses ($54.7 million) and attendance at BU athletic events ($28.3 million), with $11.3 million of the attendance figure coming from visitors to the Waco community. Baylor football made the biggest contribution to the area with an economic impact of $13.4 million, of which $5.3 came from visitors, while the baseball program was next with an annual impact of $6.8 million, of which $2.7 came from individuals outside the community.
Use of Baylor's athletic facilities for events such as this weekend's NCAA men's regional tennis championship and next weekend's softball regional also have a meaningful impact on the area's businesses and families. In the most-recent study, use of the school's athletic facilities by outside groups pumped nearly $11.9 million into the local economy with visitors accounting for $4.75 million of that amount.
The remaining sources of the department's economic impact to the community came from its capital spending projects ($4.74 million) and monies generated through individual sports camps (nearly $1.6 million) conducted by Baylor coaches in six sports.
Joyce Julius and Associates, Inc., was contracted by Baylor to analyze the media impact of the institution's intercollegiate athletics program over the course of a typical year. Utilizing a combination of actual monitored exposure received by Baylor at various time frames during the study, and historical data culled from more than 18 years of proprietary research data, Joyce Julius projects the one-year media impact of Baylor Athletics at $43,888,190.81.
The Joyce Julius report studied the impressions and exposure value the University received from television event coverage, television news/highlights, radio coverage, on-site impact, promotions, print media and the internet. All-told, Baylor Athletics received more than $1.5 billion impressions during the time period.
Television event coverage and promotions accounted for 77.1 percent of the media impact generated by Baylor's athletics program, with football telecasts and the weekly Inside Baylor Sports program garnering 71 percent of the intake from event television coverage. Big 12 Conference promotions provided Baylor with nearly $8.5 million of exposure, or 19.3 percent of the University's projected annual media impact.
"The Joyce Julius report quantifies the widespread exposure and value that Baylor Athletics affords the university in terms of institutional marketing," McCaw said. "Clearly, intercollegiate athletics represents a powerful marketing vehicle and we look forward to expanding the benefits that accrue to the university as we enjoy increasing success in the years to come."
